Resources Repository
-
EditorialPublication 2020Waiting for Certainty on COVID-19 Antibody Tests — At What Cost?
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation …
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation policy to reduce COVID-19 transmission. For example: Could we screen for serologic antibodies as a proxy for possible immunity and identify people who could return to the workplace with less severe mitigation measures? The authors acknowledge the uncertainties raised by many policy actors, including the WHO, such as, "Do antibodies confer immunity and, if so, for how long? How accurate is…
Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Health/Medicine | North America | Probability/Bayes | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Global -
ReviewPublication 2016Strengthening Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Public Health Policy
Many important opportunities to improve health lie outside the health sector and involve improving the …
Many important opportunities to improve health lie outside the health sector and involve improving the conditions in which we live and work: safe design and maintenance of roads, bridges, train tracks, and airports; control of environmental pollutants; occupational safety; healthy buildings; a safe and healthy food supply; safe manufacture of consumer products; a healthy social environment; and others. Faced with the overwhelming array of possibilities, U.S. decision makers need help identifying those that can contribute the…
Costing Methods | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | North America | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance -
ReviewPublication 2016Using Economic Evidence to Set Healthcare Priorities in LMIC
Policy makers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly looking to develop ‘evidence-based’ frameworks …
Policy makers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly looking to develop ‘evidence-based’ frameworks for identifying priority health interventions. This paper synthesizes and appraises the literature on methodological frameworks – which incorporate economic evaluation evidence – for the purpose of setting healthcare priorities in LMICs. A systematic search of Embase, MEDLINE, Econlit and PubMed identified 3968 articles with a further 21 articles identified through manual searching. A total of 36 papers were eligible for inclusion.…
Technology Assessment | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Middle East & North Africa | Latin America & Caribbean | Asia & Pacific -
ReviewPublication 2015Economic Evaluation of Diet and Physical Activity to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review
Studies indicate that combined diet and physical activity promotion programs can prevent type 2 diabetes …
Studies indicate that combined diet and physical activity promotion programs can prevent type 2 diabetes among persons at increased risk. This paper systematically evaluates the evidence on cost, cost-effectiveness, and cost–benefit estimates of diet and physical activity promotion programs. English-language studies from high-income countries that provided data on cost, cost-effectiveness, or cost–benefit ratios of diet and physical activity promotion programs with at least 2 sessions over at least 3 months delivered to persons at increased risk…
Evidence Synthesis | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | North America | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Europe | Asia & Pacific -
ReviewPublication 2015Major Concepts of Health Care Economics
This article provides a short simple guide to major economic concepts, such as supply, demand, monopoly, …
This article provides a short simple guide to major economic concepts, such as supply, demand, monopoly, monopsony, adverse selection, and moral hazard. Concepts are applied to central features of U.S. health care to illuminate some of the principal problems of health policy - high cost and the uninsured - and explain why solutions are difficult to obtain.
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Costing Methods | Health/Medicine | North America | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis -
ReviewPublication 2001Modeling for Health Care and Other Policy Decisions: Uses, Roles and Validity
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making …
This is a review article of the role of modeling approaches to guide decision making in health care and other domains. The role of models to support recommendations on the cost-effective use of medical technologies and pharmaceuticals is controversial. At the heart of the controversy is the degree to which experimental or other empirical evidence should be required prior to model use. The authors argue that the controversy stems in part from a misconception that…
Evidence Synthesis | Technology Assessment | Health/Medicine | North America | Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Environmental Health | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law -
ReviewPublication 2021Considerations for Diagnostic COVID-19 Tests
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush by numerous diagnostic …
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush by numerous diagnostic test manufacturers to create, validate, and implement testing methods. This review discusses the pivotal role of diagnostic tests during the pandemic's first global wave, highlighting the challenges in technology and implementation experienced early on. The study also offers insights for enhancing the use of diagnostics, especially syndromic ones, should there be future spikes or regional outbreaks of COVID-19. The overarching…
Test Performance | Health/Medicine | North America | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Rapid, Point-of-Care Antigen Tests for Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
This study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, …
This study reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection, differentiating results between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Using data from 155 study cohorts, the study found that the sensitivity of antigen tests was generally higher for symptomatic individuals, especially during the first week after symptom onset, due to higher viral loads. For example, average sensitivity was higher in symptomatic (73.0%) compared to asymptomatic participants (54.7). Average sensitivity was higher in…
Test Performance | Health/Medicine | North America | Infectious Diseases | Clinical Care | Science/Technology -
ReviewPublication 2022Significance of Advanced COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing in Pandemic Control Measures
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant …
Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has mounted significant efforts to combat the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite substantial progress in vaccines and treatments, leading to lower hospitalization and death rates, the virus has continued to evolve, primarily through mutations. From the onset, diagnostic tests have been crucial in identifying and controlling the virus spread. The scientific world has pioneered various diagnostic techniques, including nucleic acid, antigen, and antibody-based…
Test Performance | Health/Medicine | North America | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Clinical Care | Science/Technology